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ARCHIVE: Downtown Orlando Master List

bobliocatt

By bobliocatt
in Orlando

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smileguy Burg

smileguy

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Looks like another place doing a buildout or renovation on Orange next to Ichiban. Also, the clothing store at The Plaza called Forty VII appears to finally be open. I drove by and saw people inside, but didn't stop in to check it out.

It also looks like there is something doing buildout right across Magnolia from Forty VII.

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lala67 Whistle-Stop

lala67

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its a mixed bag, b/c if I'm not mistaken, I thought LRT in 1997 was a line from downtown to I-drive ala I-4. correct me if I'm wrong. if expansion would've meant lines to the east and west and to Altamonte (which I think was part of the plan, or am I thinking of the Lexus Lanes ala Mobility 20/20), then we did miss out big time.

Mel Martinez ran against LRT in his campaign for County chair. The County commission killed LRT as did the cities of Winter Park and Casselberry? or Maitland. Why? they didn't want 'those' kind of people coming through their towns, you know, and the noise those trains would bring, on the same tracks that ran behind their homes.

At any rate, the first leg of LRT was going to go from downtown to seaworld. Orange County Commissioners wanted the first link to run from the airport to I-drive. They complained that LRT gave Orlando the equivalent of 6-lanes of highway for transportation concurrency. Which was kind of silly since Orlando has a transportation concurrency exception area. Shortly after they killed LRT, Mel Martinez hosted a transportation summit in Windermere where they were going to talk about the more viable transportation options. It was kind of funny b/c after all the experts spoke about how busses get caught in the same delays as cars, Mel came to a realization that they couldn't just build their way out of congestion. Something everyone had talked about endlessly on the topic of LRT and why it was important for Central Florida. It's really a damn shame and a crime if you ask me that we didn't get LRT here. Commuter rail is a second rate option, but it's a start.

Current plans call for commuter rail to run from DeLand to Poinciana. I think the first line will run from DeBary to Seaworld. It definitely seems more of a reality this time around though. But what might have been if they'd gotten their act together sooner and certain ambitious politicians weren't so damned short-sighted.

Future phases call for a line between the airport and I-drive. Maybe even to Lake Nona. Mayor Land of Apopka has been lobbying for a future spur from Apopka to the I-4 spine. Tri-rail took a long time to catch on, but it's become quite a system. As for dealing with costs and such, my feeling is that we already subsidize roads to a tremendous extent and subsidize the automobile at the expense of all other forms of transportation, that the subsidization of CRT should be thought of in the same way as other infrastructure.

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demon Hamlet

demon

Posted
Posted

Mel Martinez ran against LRT in his campaign for County chair. The County commission killed LRT as did the cities of Winter Park and Casselberry? or Maitland. Why? they didn't want 'those' kind of people coming through their towns, you know, and the noise those trains would bring, on the same tracks that ran behind their homes.

At any rate, the first leg of LRT was going to go from downtown to seaworld. Orange County Commissioners wanted the first link to run from the airport to I-drive. They complained that LRT gave Orlando the equivalent of 6-lanes of highway for transportation concurrency. Which was kind of silly since Orlando has a transportation concurrency exception area. Shortly after they killed LRT, Mel Martinez hosted a transportation summit in Windermere where they were going to talk about the more viable transportation options. It was kind of funny b/c after all the experts spoke about how busses get caught in the same delays as cars, Mel came to a realization that they couldn't just build their way out of congestion. Something everyone had talked about endlessly on the topic of LRT and why it was important for Central Florida. It's really a damn shame and a crime if you ask me that we didn't get LRT here. Commuter rail is a second rate option, but it's a start.

Current plans call for commuter rail to run from DeLand to Poinciana. I think the first line will run from DeBary to Seaworld. It definitely seems more of a reality this time around though. But what might have been if they'd gotten their act together sooner and certain ambitious politicians weren't so damned short-sighted.

Future phases call for a line between the airport and I-drive. Maybe even to Lake Nona. Mayor Land of Apopka has been lobbying for a future spur from Apopka to the I-4 spine. Tri-rail took a long time to catch on, but it's become quite a system. As for dealing with costs and such, my feeling is that we already subsidize roads to a tremendous extent and subsidize the automobile at the expense of all other forms of transportation, that the subsidization of CRT should be thought of in the same way as other infrastructure.

I still hope we can get light rail. Airport-Florida Mall-Convention Center-Universal-Millenia-Downtown might be a nice opening run.

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JRS1 Town

JRS1

Posted
Posted

Mel Martinez ran against LRT in his campaign for County chair. The County commission killed LRT as did the cities of Winter Park and Casselberry? or Maitland. Why? they didn't want 'those' kind of people coming through their towns, you know, and the noise those trains would bring, on the same tracks that ran behind their homes.

At any rate, the first leg of LRT was going to go from downtown to seaworld. Orange County Commissioners wanted the first link to run from the airport to I-drive. They complained that LRT gave Orlando the equivalent of 6-lanes of highway for transportation concurrency. Which was kind of silly since Orlando has a transportation concurrency exception area. Shortly after they killed LRT, Mel Martinez hosted a transportation summit in Windermere where they were going to talk about the more viable transportation options. It was kind of funny b/c after all the experts spoke about how busses get caught in the same delays as cars, Mel came to a realization that they couldn't just build their way out of congestion. Something everyone had talked about endlessly on the topic of LRT and why it was important for Central Florida. It's really a damn shame and a crime if you ask me that we didn't get LRT here. Commuter rail is a second rate option, but it's a start.

Current plans call for commuter rail to run from DeLand to Poinciana. I think the first line will run from DeBary to Seaworld. It definitely seems more of a reality this time around though. But what might have been if they'd gotten their act together sooner and certain ambitious politicians weren't so damned short-sighted.

Future phases call for a line between the airport and I-drive. Maybe even to Lake Nona. Mayor Land of Apopka has been lobbying for a future spur from Apopka to the I-4 spine. Tri-rail took a long time to catch on, but it's become quite a system. As for dealing with costs and such, my feeling is that we already subsidize roads to a tremendous extent and subsidize the automobile at the expense of all other forms of transportation, that the subsidization of CRT should be thought of in the same way as other infrastructure.

CRT will run down the tracks-- Phase I from DeBary to ORHS or Sand Lake Rd. Phase II/III from there to Poinciana/ DeLand to DeBary.

The spur to Apopka would be perfect-- en route to Eustis area.

Proposed LRT will connect Taft to Lake Nona ala south OIA property and coal train spur.

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cwetteland Burg

cwetteland

Posted
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... as did the cities of Winter Park and Casselberry? or Maitland. Why? they didn't want 'those' kind of people coming through their towns, you know, and the noise those trains would bring, on the same tracks that ran behind their homes.

I think the death of LRT came in two phases. First as you say, Winter Park and Maitland shot down the northern route based on the false assumptions of noise, and street traffic disruption. So what went to the county for a vote was only the southern route. At the time nobody lived downtown, and although plenty of people worked downtown, those workers didn't live on I-Drive, so rightfully so, that ridership would have been very low. Too bad none of these commissioners could envision all the people moving into downtown, nor think beyond the initial route to all the links that would follow. Criminal indeed.

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bic Burg

bic

Posted
Posted

944 S. Orange Avenue

The applicant is proposing to construct a 7-story, 248,000 sq. ft. mixed use building. The building would contain 4,705 sq. ft. of retail/commercial on the ground floor, 184 residential units, and 307 parking spaces in a 6-story parking structure with a pool and amenity deck on the top level. The proposed height is 80-feet.

Located in the South Orange neighborhood, the 1.67 acre vacant subject property is located north of Columbia Street, south of West Gore Street, west of South Orange Avenue and east of Lake of the Woods. Silver Court, a two lane substandard brick street, abuts a portion of the southern edge of the subject site and runs eastward along the southern property line providing access to South Orange Ave. In other words, this is located between the CBD and SoDo.

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Boomer136 Hamlet

Boomer136

Posted
Posted

^ And right on the good ol' Lynx Number 11 route Downtown/Airport. One of the few bus routes that swings by every 10 minutes or so. If you can't find a place downtown, this is the next best thing to do it carless. This by itself will really change the character of that stretch of Orange. It'll look less like Detroit, that's for sure.

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lala67 Whistle-Stop

lala67

Posted
Posted

I think the death of LRT came in two phases. First as you say, Winter Park and Maitland shot down the northern route based on the false assumptions of noise, and street traffic disruption. So what went to the county for a vote was only the southern route. At the time nobody lived downtown, and although plenty of people worked downtown, those workers didn't live on I-Drive, so rightfully so, that ridership would have been very low. Too bad none of these commissioners could envision all the people moving into downtown, nor think beyond the initial route to all the links that would follow. Criminal indeed.

even worse is that a big part of the reason we get less of Fed Highway funds than we send in (a donor state) has to do with having very little transit in this state. I'll never forget a meeting I attended where a presentation was given about this. One County commissioner said 'well why don't we have more transit?'. This same county commissioner had voted against light rail shortly after he had been elected. I nearly choked on my croissant. It seems once they get elected and then serve a few years they finally realize the magnitude of the problem, but by then it's often too late. I really have to admire Mica for his efforts and sticking with it.

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  • 3 weeks later...
demon Hamlet

demon

Posted
Posted

Does anyone know what's going in the two buildings on Orange across from BOA and next to Fratellis? It looks like they have completely gutted the interior, knocked down a few walls and added some windows.

I've walked by & wondered the same.

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bic Burg

bic

Posted
Posted

Also that Downtown Mini has moved out of downtown?!?!?!

That's unfortunate. Apparently they moved to a spot on John Young Parkway between Sand Lake Road and 528 (technically 8901 Futures Dr), which couldn't be any more different than their downtown location as far as urbanity is concerned.

Now with Smart and Aston Martin moved in by Millenia, there are hardly any other car marques that could utilize a boutique showroom like the one that is now vacant. I'd love to see Tesla move in there but that seems pretty unlikely given their grim financial situation right now. Anybody know what will fill the space now that Mini is gone?

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jack Burg

jack

Posted
Posted

Did anyone else notice that First National Bank next to Glatting Jackson is gone. Also that Downtown Mini has moved out of downtown?!?!?!

Did not know the bank was gone. Mini ran out of space. They did not want to have a second location. There were no other options for space downtown. Boutiques are hard when you sell that many cars.

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tennis32801 Whistle-Stop

tennis32801

Posted
Posted

with bad retail news comes good news:

there is buildout going on at the former location of Rhythm & Flow.

Good. I am surprise that spot have been vacant for so long. That intersection has got to have the most foot traffic in downtown, especially with Ember around the corner.

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